FIM failure

If one or more FIMs in the primary FortiGate-7000 fails, the cluster renegotiates and the FortiGate-7000 with the most operating FIMs becomes the primary FortiGate-7000. An FIM failure can occur if the FIM shuts down due to a software crash or hardware problem, or if the FIM is manually shut down or even removed from the chassis.

After the primary FortiGate-7000 experiences an FIM failure, the FortiGate-7000 with the most operating FIMs becomes the new primary FortiGate-7000. The new primary FortiGate-7000 sends gratuitous arp packets out all of its connected interfaces to inform attached switches to send traffic to it. Sessions then resume with the new primary FortiGate-7000.

If the secondary FortiGate-7000 experiences an FIM failure, its status in the cluster does not change. However, in future negotiations the FortiGate-7000 with an FIM failure is less likely to become the primary FortiGate-7000.